Virgin chief quits after allegations of Cheryl Cole flight tip-offs

An airline executive has left her position dealing with high-profile customers following accusations she tipped off the paparazzi with the flight details of a host of celebrities, including Cheryl Cole.

The former Virgin Atlantic supervisor of Upper Class passengers resigned today following claims that she passed on information to a global photography agency.

Virgin Atlantic’s A-list passengers might have been victims of a paparazzi plot (PA)

Email exchanges seen by the Guardian appear to show the employee informing Big Pictures of which flights the likes of Cole, her former husband Ashley, Sienna Miller, Robbie Williams, Nicole Scherzinger, Jermain Defoe, Gwyneth Paltrow and Scarlett Johansson would be on.

Many of the journeys were between London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports and major US destinations, including New York, Florida and Los Angeles.

In return, an email from the agency informed the supervisor that it was ‘trying to sort you out some money with accounts’.

A statement from Virgin Atlantic read: ‘The security of customer information is our highest priority and we have robust processes in place to ensure that passenger information is protected. The incident that has been alleged concerns eight customers’ flights booked in 2010 and we are in contact with all of those people.’

The Guardian suggested it had checked the whereabouts of the affected celebrities on the dates in question and, where details are known, they appear to match up with the airline worker’s emails.